Let God< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Genesis 26:6-16

In the time of famine Isaac went to Abimelech, King of the Philistines, in Gerar. God instructed him not to go down to < ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>Egypt but to dwell where He asked of him. When God asks you to stay in a land that does not look secure, will you not stay and wait for Him to do what He will do? Isaac stayed in Gerar despite the threat of what could happen to his wife Rebekah. In Gerar, he wanted to take the job of security guard from the Almighty Guardian. He wanted to help God in protecting his wife from the hand of the wicked men because of her beauty. God gave him a beautiful wife, God directed him to dwell where he was, and God was teaching and instructing him. When God is in control, do not let the situation of the land control you. Genesis 26:7, ÒAnd the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, ÔShe is my sisterÕ; for he was afraid to say Ôshe is my wifeÕ because he taught, ÔLest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold.ÕÓ In his effort as the security guard, he faltered from the truth by lying. As a result, everything stopped working for Isaac. However, when the truth came out about Rebekah, the Bible confirmed in Genesis 26:12, ÒThen Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him.Ó It could not be accidental that his blessing came after truth prevailed. Give it all up to truth; He is able to see you through. Lying will not prevail; it will only delay or destroy. Ask God to strip off every agent or activity of lying and deception in your life.

About Prayer< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Exodus 6:1-8

Affliction is a combination of burden and bondage. The children of < ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>Israel spent over four hundred years in affliction of Egypt before God sent Moses to deliver them. Among many of the assurances of God when He sent Moses was in Exodus 3:17, ÒAnd I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.Ó Is there any situation that has taken a place of affliction in your life? Affliction: Burden- something that is emotionally difficult to bear or a source of great worry or stress, Bondage- the state of one who is bound as a slave or a state of subjection to a force or influence. Is there any way your situation is identified with affliction as defined here? Is the definition of affliction in line with what you are looking up to God to deliver you from? This is how God promised to help the children of Israel in Exodus 6:6, ÒTherefore say to the children of Israel: I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.Ó As the year runs out, ask God to bring you out from under every burden, ask Him to rescue you from their bondage and to redeem you. Pray the word; know about what you are asking God so that when you receive your breakthrough, you will know how to thank Him well enough for perfection to become yours. 

Issues of Barrenness< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Genesis 25:21-26

It is recorded that Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as his wife. Rebekah was barren and did not have a child until Isaac was sixty years of age. Evidently, Isaac waited for twenty years before RebekahÕs barrenness ceased. Isaac was not quiet before God during the season of her barrenness; he was pleading and asking for breakthrough. Genesis 25:21, ÒNow Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.Ó To Isaac, it must have been a long period of waiting, which might have led to thoughts of AbrahamÕs long wait as well. History and time was not enough to stop Isaac from asking and pleading with God. How long have you been going through your barrenness? It could be financial or any other kind of barrenness, the bottom line is that barrenness is not a season that you want to go through. Have you been pleading with the LORD in deed and in truth? Do not get tired or be discouraged, God is still in the business of answering prayer. He hears your cry and when He favors you it is going to be for your lifetime. Your weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). Be persistent in your pleading and calling for His hand. Remind Him concerning the works of His hand and He will remember you with favor at His appointed time. The God who granted IsaacÕs plea will grant yours in Jesus name.  

Spiritual Fitness< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Luke 9:57-62

Are you spiritually fit? What is it that is stopping you from being spiritually fit? Do you desire to be spiritually fit? A soccer player, basketball player, football player or any professional sport, whether man or woman, have a need to be physically and mentally fit as long they remain in the profession of sports. They have to constantly and consistently be engaged in a regular schedule that will keep them fit or else when competition comes, their source of income could be jeopardized. But you, as a genuine kingdom worker, a kingdom worker that is known by the camp of the enemy, a kingdom worker that does not want to be terminated by the force of wickedness from getting to his or her expected end, a Kingdom worker that wants to be able to stand his or her ground of battle at any given time, how do you get or maintain spiritual fitness? In JesusÕ teaching of the true cost of discipleship, Luke 9:62 ÒBut Jesus said to him, ÔNo one having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.ÕÓ If you have given your life to Christ you have put your hand to the plow; all the agents of hell are against you because you have placed you hand in GodÕs hand. You secured yourself where no force or agent of evil can take away your eternal life. However, your looking back and not holding on to the hand of God will send you back to the world. You cannot have your hand connected to the plow and continue or begin to love the present world. Be diligent in seeking God. When you are serious in seeking Him, heaven will take you seriously in the business of the < ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>Kingdom of God. Seek Him and be seriously fit.

Good Shepherd< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

John 10:1-21

He came to this world quietly and very humbly. He came to look for you and to find you from this world of sin that you may live and not die an eternal death. Has He been able to locate you? You have been in the church, you have a title in the church but the works that you do in the church are not an indication that He has been able to find you. The fact that you are still very fond of the world is holding you back from being found. He was born in the manger; He was born very lowly so He can place you on a high ground. He came to give His life just like the good shepherd will give his life for his sheep. It is not just a story, but it is a just cause for you to have life and be delivered from the hand of the thief. John 10:10, ÒThe thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.Ó Does your lifestyle testify to the way He came to this world, or does it only demonstrate a worldly celebration of His birth? It matters when you truly receive, accept and believe in Him by the testimonies that your life presents. For now, you may fake, act, get emotional, or be in a crowd. The time is coming when He will come back with a mission to separate the wheat from the tares. Do not be carried away with the celebration of this world. Let it be that when He comes, He will be able to carry you away with Him. Jesus is the Good Shepherd.